A nice gentleman named Velvet Room Host
started a revival of an RPG project that seems more interesting than yet another fat fetish/ little girl/ elf rape/ etc thread.
Catastrophe is a complete thing that Veeky Forums should be proud of, even if you don't want to play it personally.
This setting could be a lot of fun as well.
I will try to promote it some, but user decides if it lives or gets shelved.
Other urls found in this thread:
fiftiesweb.com
suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com
youtube.com
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m.youtube.com
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twitter.com
So give me the elevator pitch. What's this all about and why should I be interested?
This archive thread will expire soonish so look at it. Perhaps I should port it over here, I don't know.
Premise:
It's the 1970's in the United States, but the time is not our own. After the death of President
Eisenhower in 1960, his Vice President, Richard Nixon took office. After a plague struck the U.S.,
Nixon called upon Emergency Powers and has been in office ever since.
Technology and aesthetics haven't changed much from the late 50's to early 60's.
By day, life is very Leave it to Beaver. Nuclear families, tract housing, mom is in the kitchen, dad
reads the paper while smoking his pipe, little Jimmy mows the lawn for money to go to the malt
shop. But there is something wrong with this idealized American setting. Everyone is home and
shuttered by 7, asleep by 8. Strange tales about those who venture out after dark. Some
disappear, others are found mutilated, some that are lucky enough to survive tell stories about
strange sightings. Creatures go bump. Aliens. Cultists. Mad Scientists. Monsters. All sorts of
strangeness runs wild in the streets at night.
But there are those who stand in the dark of night to oppose it. The misfits of society. The Greasers, The Punks, The Rockabillies, The Psychobillies, The Luchadores, The Cowboys, The Bikers, Amazonian Women, and other misfits stand in the way between the forces of evil and the common man.
So what im reading so far it seems really cool. However, I will admit I am no expert on Savage World and The setting flavor of Americana is something I am not the most familiar with. So I am not sure how much help I would be
Setting Stuff
Magic-
The Arcane is alive and well in this setting. Ritual Magic and Voodoo is popular amongst those who
serve the darkness. However, amongst the misfits, a new form of magic has taken shape. Instead of lengthy rituals, or arcane words and gestures, The Rockabillies and The Punks have developed magic by playing
certain notes and chords on their guitars. One of the most powerful guitar mages on the side of good is known as The Man in Black.The side of the darkness can also claim a few guitar mages on their side. When 2 guitar mages meet in combat, expect epic guitar duels.
Expect Arcane Edges to deal with this.
Hot Rods-
The Greasers have always modified and tricked out their hot rods. Even more so now, that they
often have to use their cars to battle, outrun, or race with the devil.
Expect rules for souping up your ride.
( there is/was interest in making it for multiple game systems.)
I have only glanced over the Savage rules myself. A generic setting with some rules subsets would give this wider appeal.
Bad 50's and 60's monster movies, Atomic Horror, Communist threat, bomb shelters, all add to the flavor.
Inspiration
Movies: Six String Samurai, Old El Santo Movies, Grease
TV Shows: Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Video Games: Guitar Hero Series, Rock Band 2 Intro
Last but not Least and most important:
The music of:
The Cramps, The Meteors, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, The Misfits, The Ramones, Dick Dale, Chuck
Berry, Tiger Army, Three Bad Jacks, The Stray Cats, Charlie Feathers, Nekromantix, The
Horrorpops, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Los Straitjackets, The Ghastly Ones, The Jim Rowdy
Show, The Red Elvises, and many others.
I would add 'Psycho Beach Party'.
'The Giant Gila Monster' is perfect for this.
>loli anything
>bad
You are small time. Bump for Veeky Forums stuffs, though.
From prevoius Thead:
(Some more setting concepts)
I've also decided to make 1957 the turning point of where history starts to change. Why 1957? Well... that is when in the real world Francous Duvalier aka Papa Doc became president of Haiti. He was an interesting character in the real world, and even claimed to be the Voodoo Loa of
Death, Baron Samedi. Savage it, and say that he indeed was Baron Samedi... well... having a Voodoo God of Death walking around the planet is bound to mess things up.
(Read Francous Duvalier's Wikipedia when you get the chance, especially if you're running a real world supernatural horror campaign. Dude was a delightful kind of crazy.)
(Some NPCs/Enemies)
The Hellcats
Numbers: 30-35
The Hellcats are an all female crew of bikers. They have little regard for men. While they may
occasionally use them for sex, they have no respect for the male gender. They subscribe to a
radical brand of feminism, and their loyalty is with their “sisters”. They have been forbidden to fall
in love, and any Hellcat that does is “tested” by their crew, or risk expulsion.
Their club is led by a beautiful, raven haired woman named Belle, who has recently declared war
on the much larger 1% motorcycle gang, The Disciples. At first, it was due to their mistreatment of
women, however, as of late, it has become clearer that The Disciples are involved in something
darker than just drugs and extortion rackets.
Belle- Leader of the Hellcats (Wild Card NPC)
(I left out the stats to save room. Red Velvet was going to tackle the compilation and editing, I hope he shows up...)
The Ronins
Numbers: 20-25
The smallest of the motorcycle clubs, these Japanese bikers were considered a joke when they
arrived on the scene, with their oversized pompadours, and crazy dancing to rockabilly music.
However, after a bar fight where they demonstrated their martial arts skills and faced off and
defeated about 50 Disciples, they gained respect from the other crews in the city. They tend to be
very close knit, and only allow Japanese or Japanese American bikers into their club. They
generally don’t have a problem with any of the other crews, but aren’t allied with any of them
either. However, The Disciples are still upset with The Ronins over what they consider a huge
embarrassment.
Hidenori- Leader of The Ronins (Wild Card NPC)
(Some assorted notes on magic)
I have someone helping me out with the writing as well. He is tackling the music magic portion of the setting, and is coming up with some real nice ideas. Some of these include concerts as rituals, different genres of music doing different types of magic (Metal/Necromancy, Punk/Chaos Magic, Rockabilly/Traditional Magic etc), and some setting background, like the true reason behind the The Day The Music Died
(Monster stuff)
I've been working on the bestiary section for this setting, with many monsters being inspired by music, B-Movies, and subcultural images within the realm of Rockabilly, Psychobilly, Punk Rock, Metal, Blues, etc. To whet your appetite, here is the rough draft of one of the creatures to appear in the setting. This one is inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead.
Catrina
Catrinas appear as attractive human women with highly decorated skeletal faces, and fancy Spanish or French 18th Century clothing. They often lurk in graveyards, where they serve as guardians between the realm of the living and the dead. Being able to speak and understand spoken language, they often have a rather morbid sense of humor. They often like to take verbal
jabs at the rich or those of a high place in society, reminding them that everybody is the same after death.
last thread discussion:
If you want PCs to really be fish out of water, they would likely just be random people.
Maybe John McPlayer is on the bus to work, when a mysterious black suited stranger with a nasally voice and dark sunglasses hands him something and tells him to keep it safe.
Gotta include something like a siren to warn people to get inside. Adds an extra bit of tension when the PCs hear it while studying or following a lead.
...
I really like the WWII Air Raid Sirens as a mood setter. Have a audio file to play at the right time.
I also like the 1957 Papa Doc divergence point.
Throw in the Red Scare of them Commies.
Something like this would probably stop the Hippy movement - No Summer of Love, Flower Power, Sit-Ins or any of that Feel Good Stuff.
You would still have the Beat Generation and the Dirty Bikers as the rebels.
No Space Race, More Cold War. Instead of Sputnik, the Russkies focused on Submarine Warfare.
It needs a rules set for Mutants & Masterminds
...
Taking the Jersey Turnpike at 80 miles per hour at night and you're asking for trouble. But doing that with a Jersey Devil on your tail?
That's a fool's errand.
It also cries for a short list of appropriate slang with a 50's - early 60's feel. Award players for using the jingo and discourage the word 'fuck' in every fuckin' sentence. fiftiesweb.com
Don't just let the kids have all the fun.
Some qrownups also have a vested interest in beating back the Darkness, and they tend to have better equipment left over from military days. Surly punks should get center stage, though.
This is really rad, though I think abit of Area 51 stuff would really add to this
Nobody knows where the Sanford Boys came from, but they've been in this town since my Gramps was only as old as me. Wanna know the scary thing about'em?
All the same members, and not one of 'em has aged a day since they first showed up.
Some think they're ghosts, but between you and me I'd put my money on them being bloodsuckin' vamps.
Nice to see someone else taking interest and keeping this alive.
this would be so much better if you would just take the magic bullshit out of the equation
Where did 90% of his pompie go?
Actually, a lot would be good. Fits in with the Red Scare.
No Vietnam War, Nixon dropped one little nuke on the Gooks and 'Nam is now a good little protectorate state that ships us all their oil right on time. Didn't even need to use a H bomb.
>an RPG project that seems more interesting than yet another fat fetish/ little girl/ elf rape/ etc thread
I doubt it, honestly
You are welcome, glad to see you, Velvet Room. Lots of work to do.
Drop it from your game. Just Remember: Sinful Rock music worse than Jazz for corrupting Our Innocent Children.
The CIA have been researching the Mind Control Abilities inherent in the broadcast of Unruly Harmonics for years. Think of the Children! Lock them up at Night, for America's sake!!
You should probably make something tangible before trying to advertise.
The notes talk about doing something with the Day The Music Died, but I can't decide what. Russian plot to kill rock and roll? Demonic conspiracy to reap the souls of musicians? Plane shot down by Grey's?
Waylon Jennings actually did curse the plane Buddy Holly was on. A Manitou taught him how to do it. Which is why you should never trust a country singing guitar mage- they cast the nastiest curses you can imagine.
My question is how all of this affects things like segregation.
KKK's still exists and is rather an unspoken thing that everyone knows. You don't wanna screw with the bastards anyway, they've magic on their side.
I would tend to make this like American television of the 50's and 60's.
Except that black people are important for that degenerate music that corrupted Our Children.
It is fueled by his attitude and mood. Usually it is larger than Life. A Sampson of our Time. His power resides in it.
This is the link to the original brainstorming thread that Velvet Room revived.
suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com
I have no idea how this pic relates, but I'm sure there is a connection...
There's plenty for a hot rodder to fear in the night. Ghost trains running down empty tracks without warning, the spirit of the Little Bastard hijacking the car and taking you on a lethal joyride...But if the Black Rig appears in your rearview mirror, shining it's high beams and blaring it's ghastly horn, you better burn rubber and pray you make it to see the light of day.
>No Space Race
That's just sad.
I'd like it better if the space race actually was faster and more succesful. Russkies went first to the moon, so to one-up them yankees started building a moonbase.
Then they discovered some caves on the moon, and inside the caves...
Yes, but it keeps the focus on the RocknRoll rebels. Add it to your version. I think Submarine Superiority adds much more paranoia, and without Sputnik and Kennedy the space program could be delayed decades.
Ah, good old Commie Martian Invaders, swayed by the power of Communism and craving a bootylicious babes in bikini...
Remember that awful film director? Ell or something?
That right, HIM and his really, really bad movies. In fact, they are not movies at all! Its a documentary films about heroes and REAL monsters, deliberately made to look bad and fake.
In fact, he is shooting a movie right now, near abandoned mine. What he is up to?
I just like the idea of the some kind of TV show with like Deadland's Epitaph - "trashy paper spreading the Truth as nonsense". Something like late-night show named "Horror of Unknown" or similar, with a horror host Edward Woodsky, "fake" vampire.
Heroes can tell story about their exploits to an Edward, and it will retold for a mass... as a horror B-movie.
It seems the directors looking for replacement actors since his last crew 'quit'. But there's no stunt doubles, and those waivers he's making people sign are rather troubling...
Big ideas, ant sized pic.
Man the setting premise is basically '60s america + magic. Take magic out of the equation and you're left with slightly more than one half of the setting.
this would basically be fallout without the Nuclear Apocolypse then
But hey, he seems a nice guy, payment is good, and the cater service are fine, lots of fresh seafood!. Seems worth a shot.
Yet his cameraman, Joe, is creeping me out. He can't just stop staring at everyone, without blinking at all.
And have you seen those weird fat rolls on his neck? I swear, they almost look like gills!
Ed Wood gives up schlocky movie making and becomes a producer of newsreels, becomes known as "The Bravest Journalist in America".
missed last thread. Need to get up to date and then I'm ready to contribute.
Loving the idea so far. Except luchadores, but it is not such a big deal.
Was Streets of fire added to the watching list?
It has no fantasy element but describes itself as a Rock'n Roll fable.
you could replace the magic with weird superscience, 60's had tons of Atomic mutation, mind control, memory alteration, body swapping, etc
Check out 'The Prisoner'
Psychic powers and super tech could duplicate about 30%+ of the magic
Spending the Space Race money on Spy gadgets could do a lot also.
here
original
suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com
Most of previous thread is condensed here.
Area 51 has to be an campaign-ending dungeon. You could write a whole campaign centered around getting the tools and intel you need to infiltrate the base and get whatever the government's keeping in there. Maybe it's clones of Nixon, in made in case the plague killed him. Maybe it's an intact UFO. Maybe it's an alien princess being held hostage in exchange for her home planet's technology.
I probably won't use Luchadores either, they feel too modern. Outlaw bikers wielding their dad's trophy Luger and riding Indians and Harleys, would fill the niche nicely.
What about a Rebel Without A Cause type class? Or a square with a knack for science that translates into spells. Or an artist whose pictures come to life? Just tossing out some ideas that come to mind when reading this.
"Little Suzie's at it again. Those weird pictures she draws looks real...too real. I swear that bear face she drew blinked at me! Shame about the rose she drew. It wilted in a few days."
Not sure if the artist would work for a class, but as an enemy that'd be pretty cool.
Also, I think the science geek would be better suited as a gadgeteer, since we're going for the 'magic via music' thing
So, besides Savage Worlds or Apocalypse World, what systems would this setting work in?
Mutants &Masterminds
5th ed D&D Modern (Ultramodern 5th)
FATE Core's stuff is available for literally free on their website.
Shadowrun for those who like Shadowrun
???
There are voices of a ritual to invoke a certain Biker. He wears an astronaut helmet with SPACE written on it. As part of the ritual you must challenge him to race to a certain place. Any place, no matter how far away.
And then you have to race. The race will seem like a maddening experience where you loose track of your surroundings. If you are faster then him you will reach the destination you chose in half an hour, even if it is on the other part of the globe. But if you are slower, if you lose the race, you will find yourself in random place on Earth with no clue on how you got there.
Rumors tell that the Biker has an older brother TIME and challenging him to a ride would let you travel in time....
Yes definitely Streets of FIre is a must. Go watch it.
music n stuff I should have put these at the top, quite the mood setters.
youtube.com
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O.W. Grant; the son of a leprechaun and a Cheyenne Indian.
O.W. Grant, who is yet found near Interstate 60, wears a red bow tie, carries a pipe with mysterious powers in the shape of a monkey-head and grants people their wish, often with the macabre twist that the wish manifests exactly as it was worded.
Can be found only on the Interstate 60, which does not exit on most maps.
Oooh, Coolsville Daddy-O! That's the Spirit.
That is most of the last thread, I missed a few things, but they still lurk over there.
My comments were mixed randomly throughout, some old, some new, some useful.
has links to the original real deal
Velvet Room Host is the the Big Cheese on this little sockhop, I will probably write up some conversion notes for M&M if this ungodly yet All-American Mutant Frankenstein™ shows signs of life.
Rock the Night Away! Far Away!™
Ork like superstition on how to get your bike to be faster?
Spcial colors?
Stripes?
Stickers?
Good Question:
Paint flames on it.
Larger , shinier , more exposed engines
Is his pompadour his Fate Point / Bennie storage tank?
...
It's his Coolness reserve. It changes from scene to scene.
Not to quibble over minutia, I believe He has a Duck tail or D.A.
A pompadour curls back onto the head,
If I have my facts in a row. I still commend you for giving a flip about it.
Let's try to make a oneshot.
Party: A biker, ex criminal. A lone musician in search of fame. A nerd scholar guy. A girl necromancer?
What are they to do? Stop a ritual to kill music in their state?
And what can you tell me about the legendary OniBaku
Bump
You're giving me way too much credit, hep cat. I just found this on an abandoned forum thread and needed help knocking off the cobwebs